The Muraviskr Pantheon
Back to Religion Worlds Avilkar (Realm of the gods), Erdomr (Realm of the mortals) and Hilgordr (Realm of the dead). 'Gods' The Gods of the Muraviskr Pantheon are known as the Strosil, these twelve beings can take on any form they wish, but when in the presence of mortals they they take on the shape of men and women so as to spare the mortals the overwhelming sight of their normal form. Upon the creation of the mortal races they divided themselves in couplings of two, often male and female, taking on the responsibilities of managing Erdomr and ensuring it and its inhabitants survival. The twelve Strosil are as follows: Creation The world is believed by the Muraviskr to be have been created and divided into three distinct realms. -Avilkar The first to be created is Avilkar, home of the Strosil; it is often protrayed as a great palace built atop a towering mountain with a long winding road leading upwards out of the clouds to its orante gates. Avilkar is a place that no Muraviskr should wish to ever go or see, for according to legend it is a place for the Strosil and no other, the few mortals to ever venture their in ancient saga did so with the Strosil's permission and even they did not return for hundreds of years, arriving to find their families bones crumbling to dust for time does not pass in Avilkar as it does in Erodmr or the realm of mortals. The only beings who reside in Avilkar are the Trova, according to legend they are metal beings of no soul or flesh and insted are clockwork creatures built only to serve. These beings work as the Strosil's servants and were built specificly to not know or be capable of anything else, because of this they lack any sence of freedom or independance and are undisputedly loyal to the Strosil who view them as little more than slaves incapable of even the most basic of thoughts. -Erdomr The second realm to be created, it is the realm of the mortal races and the life. It was created by the Strosil with the purpose of giving them a home for their creations, but this desire soon became a responsibilty and the Strosil divided tasks between themselves so as to manage Erdomr and ensure the survival of their greatest creation life. -Hilgodr: With life came death and with this a need for a realm of the dead arose. Built atop a mountaintop like Avilkar, Hilgodr is depicted as a grand fortress always covered in fog or mist. In death it is belived the souls of the honourable are brought to Hilgodr by the Jivora, guards of the gate, once their they remain for eternity in everlasting hapiness amidst friends and family. It is also belived that in death the souls of the dishonourable make the same journey to Hilgodr, but upon arrival they are chased from the gates by the Jivora down the mountain into the great plaines of fog where Henilr and his wife Ovila, alongside their horrific creation, Thorulvir, hunt them for eternity as punishment for their dishonour. Races & Religions -Humanity Humanity is seen by the Muraviskr as the dominant and first people of the world by the Muraviskr. This belief has led to the religion being strongly disliked by the dwarves to south and to the east who view this belief of human superiority as an insult toward dwarvenkind. -Dwarves As already mentioned dwarves view the Muraviskr Pantheon with harsh disdain, but the Muraviskr belief of human superiority does not necessarily enforce any reason for dwarves to be treated harshly; in fact dwarves are widely seen by the Muraviskr as cousins and simply a less numerous people who in every right are just as powerful as themselves. The only distinction being that humanity and not the dwarves were the first to be created and as such gave them the elder right to the world, a tradition that is present in much of the Muraviskr culture and religion -Minotaurs Minotaurs are seen by the Muraviskr faith as monsters, deformed half breeds of beast and man and because of this minotaurs have been driven into the remote wilderness where they can live in peace. Their origin, according to a side tale in the ancient saga of Rokolsir, was that of a herd of cattle which after being abused by their master gored him and broke free from their pasture, killing everyone in the town. Finally when the local chieftain Rokolsir and all his men came to end the uprising the beasts fled into the woods where Ilving came to them. Angered by their uprising the Strosil cursed them with what they had wished for the most, freedom such as that of man and with it the ability to walk upright and use tools, but as punishment the process mutilated their insides causing them constant pain forever. This belief that minotaurs are in constant pain is widely held by the Muraviskr even today, even when many dwell in the Mountains of Fjalin er Eruvk in peaceful villages evidently not in constant pain. -Skarls Skarls are seen as evil creatures who dwell in the lands north of Ydarum and Narhog, both north of the Muraviskr they are lands where few men live. According to legend the Skarls are a race of beings who are made up of the bodies of the dead souls in Hilgordr. How or why they escaped Hilgodr is unclear, but it is a common, yet unofficial belief that they are the dead who led dishonourable lives, but escaped the hunt of Thorulvir and the Strosil of Death. -Other All other mortal races remain unknown to the Muraviskr who rarely journey far eastwards. '-'Other Religions The Muraviskr faith views all other faiths as false heathen beliefs. Despite this they believe someone has the right to choose to worship what or who they wish and as such declaring war upon them in an effort to seize land is often seen as morally wrong. Raids however, are entirely acceptable, even encouraged; Muraviskr raiders often raid the lands to the south where other faiths are prominent, believing fiercely that the people south of them are weaker and as such are deserving of the raids which are hated along the coasts of Armoria and Forland. Rituals & Event Ritual To reach or communicate with the Strosil a person must make an offering to a specific god. This offering is often done through burning a piece of what was once alive on a fire in a temple run by priests or in a place ordained with holy blood (priest's blood). Each Strosil has his or her own specific offering so as to better reach them, but anything that was once alive can be burned. For Rovvar a mouse must be burned, for Hemrad a squirrel, for Wernil a fish from the sea, for Elisor a fish from the lakes or rivers, for Uridd a rabbit buck, for Ysila a hen, for Tolva a piglet, for Stoshai no offering can be made she cares not for mortals and is unreachable, for Henilr a person own blood must be burned, for Ovila a rose or a bird of prey, for Ilving a white cat and for Parl any plant will do. Should a person make any of these offerings their prayers will be able to reach the gods. On special occasion or at festivals a much larger offering is always expected, fully grown cows or horses are the usual offering, but in ancient days prisoners or slaves were often taken from neighbouring lands to be offered to the Strosil. These offerings can be made by anyone, but during the larger events the role is given to the priests to slay or obtain and then burn the offering. Relics Relics are a controversial factor if the Muraviskr faith, many see them as places of greater worship where offerings may be made that will have better chance of reaching the Strosil, but others believe them to be false and refuse to make the arduous trek to their location, many more also believe that relics true or false will not aid an offering. The only notable relics still accounted for reside in the two cities of Jelmund and Nifharl. In Jelmund a single braid of Parl's hair resides in the High Temple where the priests guard it with their lives, allowing others to see it only during daylight hours. In Nifharl the axe of Henilr is kept by the King Olarr who keeps it high above his long hall on display for all too make offerings to whenever they so wish, his fire is always burning and ready for offerings and as such many arrive to make offerings daily. In the past many more relics were known to exist, but they have been lost to time, the mightiest of which was the staff of Ilving, which according to legend could sway the minds of mortals to restore order; it was destroyed in a fire. Scripture There are multiple tales with religious influence for the Muraviskr faith, these tales are known as sagas and they tell the stories of notable people who acted in ways of honour and as such rest in Hilgodr. The amount of sagas that exist is unnumbered as small towns and villages often have their own shorter sagas which tell the tale of local heroes or monsters. Sagas tend towards having a moral message, however some lack this feature and instead are told purely as a means of entertainment; these two types are called Dunr Saga, for sagas which have a moral message and Astov Saga, for sagas which are purely entertainment. The most well known sagas are the Rokolsir Saga, a story chronicling the life of a warrior named Rokolsir who rose to become a chieftain before dying an honourable death in battle, it portrays the way a warrior should act throughout his entire life so as to enter Hilgodr as a hero. Another well known saga is the Resivk Saga which tells the tale of Resivk and his four sons who journeyed far north on the ship Felyammir on a great adventure, it is a Astov Saga and contains stories of the mythic monsters of the north. A third great saga is the Thorulvir Saga, which tells of the creation of the dreaded beast of Hilgodr, Thorulvir and how it was created by the Strosil Henilr from the deceased souls of the greatest monsters of Erdomr. It serves to warn people of how those who act with dishonour will face punishment in Hilgodr where they will be hunted for eternity by Thorulvir and his master, the Strosil of famine and death, Henilr. Death Custom and Funeral Death is often perceived as the beginning of a journey from the realm of Erdomr to the realm of Hilgordr; what occurs to the body of the person afterwards is often seen as irrelevant and both mass graves and cremation are common. A corpse is perceived by the Muraviskr as nothing more than the shell of a persons soul and once that person has died the soul is gone, only able to return through the twisted form of a Skarl. Birth During the birth of a child prayer towards both Ilving and Parl is commonplace, this is to ensure the childs survival thanks to high infant mortality rates. Should a child survive more than a month, its parents are expected to name the child and after three named months the child is considered a proper member of the family, before this date the child is seen as simply a person and not a proper family member, this is to dull the hardships of loosing a child. Holy Men/Women The holy men of the Muraviskr faith are known as the Halkrite or a Halkr, they are also referred to commonly as as Priests of the Muraviskr. They are an exclusively male order whose purpose is to manage temples of the faith so as to ensure followers have a place to make offerings to the Strosil.